FISH titles are quite the catch for roller hockey teams

The Florida Inline Scholastic Hockey recently put the finishing touches to another successful season as area squads vied for titles in three divisions at Spring Valley Park in Pembroke Pines.

This marked the league's 14th season of giving area high school students an outlet to play organized and competitive roller hockey in a structured environment.

Two of the three divisional finals were decided by a single goal, and the third by a pair of goals that included an empty netter.

"All the games were very close," said Mickey Lopez, a board member and league official. "All were either tied or a one-goal game throughout."

When the dust settled, Cooper City had successfully defended its Division I crown, the Cowboys' fourth in five years. Other championship action saw West Broward claim Division II bragging rights, while the Pines Charter School Jaguars won the Division III crown.

Division I

Cooper City sealed its third consecutive title by eliminating the Cypress Bay Lightning White in a fast-paced game that saw Hunter Wild score in the first and second periods as the Cowboys went ahead 2-0.

But the advantage was short-lived.

Lightning White fought back to make it 2-2 by the end of the second period. Danny Worth ignited the rally with a goal, and then assisted on Ryan Geffin's equalizer.

In the third stanza, Cowboys' player Andrew Barroso had a go-ahead goal on an assist by Sean Miller. But Cypress Bay countered again to knot the game at 3-3 on a tally by Casey Greenberg.

Miller put the Cowboys up 4-3 midway through the third period with what proved to be their winning goal. In the waning seconds, Wild added an empty netter to complete the hat trick.

The Cowboys had opened the playoffs with a 7-5 win over Cypress Bay White. Miller led the way with a hat trick, while James Sharpe recorded two goals and two assists. Barroso added two goals and one assist.

Next, Cooper City defeated Cypress Bay Gold, 10-4, behind the play of juniors Matt Girello and Zachary Protich. Girello led the attack with three goals and an assist, while Protich, with three assists, was the Cowboys' key playmaker.

Justin Catoe, Dylan Pappalardo, Chase Steinberg, Sharp, Miller, Barroso and Wild also scored, with assists going to Barroso (2), Sharpe and Miller. Zack Milner was stellar in net, and he received solid support from junior blue-liner Russel Furman.

The West Broward Bobcats and Archbishop McCarthy Mavericks battled it out in this finale.

The Bobcats forged an early 2-0 lead on goals by Brandon Pierson and Austin Gomez, off respective assists by Chris Potts and Alex Goldstein. Nick Pasley scored for the Mavericks to make it 2-1 after one period.

The second period saw West Broward again outscore the McCarthy squad, 2-1, on goals by Goldstein and Gomez, while a second goal from Pasley kept the Mavericks within reach at 4-2.

McCarthy's defense, anchored by netminder Logan Bellantoni, shut out the Bobcats in the third stanza, but the Mavs could score only one goal, by Pasley, to complete his hat trick. The Bobcats hung on for the 4-3 win.

The popular FISH league, founded in 1997 by Lance Ruble, is one of the longest-running scholastic roller hockey programs in the country. This year, the league presented its annual Lance Ruble Award to Plantation's Mark Sadkin.

The organization is offering a FISH Summer League, beginning next month. Any player, coach or team interested in participating in either the summer or the 2011-12 regular season should contact the league at wppofish@aol.com.